And with the research telling us “that concepts of the renegade groups as something ‘other’ are too simplistic”, the BBC’s Vincent Kearney reports that the PSNI Chief Constable, Matt Baggott, has been lobbying for access to “more than £200m of special funding from the treasury reserve during the next five years.”

My understanding is that the PSNI has said it can and will make efficiency savings, but the chief constable has also lobbied for access to more than £200m of special funding from the treasury reserve during the next five years to be used if he feels it is needed to combat the dissident threat.

The money would be used to improve the technology available for countering terrorism, to increase the amount of air support, and to recruit additional officers for close protection duties and guarding police stations.

The chief constable has pressed his case for access to additional funding in meetings with Prime Minister David Cameron in London, and in talks with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and the Home Secretary Teresa May, during visits to Northern Ireland this month.

The talks with the home secretary took place just days after she warned that the threat of a terrorist attack in Britain by dissident republicans had risen from moderate to substantial, meaning an attack is now regarded as a “strong possibility”.

The police said they need access to additional funding to ensure they can contain and eventually reduce the threat.

In spite of dozens of conspiraces from Provisional Sinn Fein about dxxxxxnt Republicans. Such as, these groups are in the pay of British Intelligence, they’re all criminals, alcholics and mentally disturbed etc…….

Why not just accept the fact that while imperialism, occupation and partition remain, so will armed conflict?

This is a historical fact and the only way to end political violence is for the British government to withdraw from Ireland. It never had nor ever will have any right to occupy part of this soveriegn Nation.

White Horse

Ardeoin Republican

Your post reveals that dissident republicans are wedded to their methods, not the goal.

Surely when the goal cannot be achieved using those methods, you would desist in the interests of all the young people who will serve sentences while the proof is established that the methods cannot work.

In my opinion you seek not to unite Ireland but to cower opposition within the Nationalist community and bully them into believing in the kind of vacuous ideological Irishness that is essentially right wing and desires strongly to prevent a shared society, in the belief that it waters down the “gene pool”. One example is the UK City of Culture which goes against this ideology and which you refuse to let Nationalists partake of.

Rory Carr

There is certainly nothing that would help the Chief Constable’s case for a call on the £200m reserve funding than an attack by one or other of the dissident groups in Britain.

Almost makes one want to swallow the conspiracy theory…. almost I said, I ain’t that dumb.

White Horse, the Irish Republican political idealogy is one of the most progressive, positive and radical idealogies on this island. As such, your claim that Republicans are right-wing flies in the face of your claims above.

As someone who is a former Political Prisoner and Combatant, I for one don’t advocate armed actions nor any return to ‘War’. Likewise, I wouldn’t like to witness more young Irish citizens going to prison for their beliefs.

However, I do accept the reality that ever since Imperialists occupied Ireland, that political violence has been fairly consistent. Therefore, my arguement is that the British Government have the courage to admit that their continued occupation is morally wrong and should end. Then there truely would no reason for any armed actions or groups, whatsoever!

In saying that, I also accept that those citizens who wish to remain British should be given full protection under Irish law and should also be allowed to remain as British. Republicans aren’t looking for everything and everyone British to leave, just its government, armed forces and institutions.

In a United Ireland context, Unionists can remain Unionists and the law should clearly reflect and protect that.

pippakin

The dissidents are, or seem to be, becoming more dangerous but if it is two hundred million pounds worth of danger, bearing in mind the money already spent on terrorism by the UK government, I frankly doubt.

White Horse

ArdEoin republican

What you describe as a solution is not far from what most Nationalists want.

It comes back to methods. It seems to me that forcing the “British” out by using violent methods sends all the wrong signals to the unionists, many of whom will feel that they must respond to these methods and the situation will just be nasty all round.

Irish republicanism, which I desribe as ideological Irishness where the goal is to nation found and build and where the whole purpose is to advantage Ireland, has never proven to give way to radicalism. Its usual position is to fail, and because the goal is to advantage the Nation, it leaves the right with a very big excuse to postpone social justice. Look at the history of the Republic.

No, Irish republicanism is a populist vehicle, often for supporting violence, with the purpose of gaining support from the people with promises they never expect to deliver on. You only have to look at Sinn Fein and the collapse of any ideology. That would be expected because of the kind of essentially right wing people who helped them in the war – the Irish Americans, the rual conservative Catholics and sections of the business community.

Oldsod

AR, just because you say something over and over, it does not make it fact. Unionists could make the same argument right back at you, ie:

“As long as there are revolutionary violent republicans, there will be British action against them or indeed loyalist resistance. Therefore revolutionary violence is morally wrong etc. People in Northern Ireland/ UK will can retain their right to be Irish and British, have full protection under British law and are allowed to remain Irish. The British are not looking for everything Irish to leave, just republican paramilitaries and their organisational support (ie: racketeering, smuggling etc). In a United Kingdom context, Republicans can remain republicans and the law clearly reflects and protects that.”

I am personally not opposed in principle to either a United Kingdom or a United Ireland (I just have certain caveats), but I fail to see what you are offering, which I don’t already have? Conflict should not be inevitable. Most people on this island don’t see conflict as inevitable. There are a minority (on either side) who wish to make conflict inevitable if they don’t get what they want. The constant repetition of the same old republican mantra is why some people believe conflict is inevitable, but for the rest of us, violent people are what create conflict, not historical inevitability. It’s really time to change that same old broken record, because I for one do not want my kids growing up to face this same old conflict the rest of us had to face. I think most republicans need reminding that while most of us are open to persuasion, we are not open to duress or bribery.

Cynic

“the Irish Republican political idealogy is one of the most progressive, positive and radical idealogies on this island. ”

Yeah …..’murdering people is good…..look where it has got us so far ….seats in Stormont and ministerial cars”

Halfer

Armed political acts, no matter how you view them morally or strategically, are an issue that need a political solution not a security response.

2 million will not buy the problem away.

Alias

“In saying that, I also accept that those citizens who wish to remain British should be given full protection under Irish law and should also be allowed to remain as British.”

It has nothing to do with Irish law since it is circumscribed by international law with the state prohibited from violating human rights. Article 15 of UN’s UDHR declares that “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality”. So dual nationality is mandatory if those who are British desire it since neither the British state nor the Irish state has any legal power to deprive them of their nationality in any proposed unified entity. While the GFA made a big song and dance about it, it was in fact already in place and nothing to do with the GFA.

Alias

“The money would be used to improve the technology available for countering terrorism…”

Shouldn’t MI5 be paying for that given that the only role the PNSI has in countering ‘dissident’ terrorism is under the direct control of MI5?

old school

“Dissident” Republicans fight for free. They fight for ideology and from the heart. They are volunteer fighters/ Their enemies fight for “danger money” and “overtime”. Britian had better have deep pockets to pay their Ulster ,sponger mercenaries. How many PSNI officers or MI5 operatives would forgoe a weeks salary never mind endure a life of hardship and misery. Answer: None.

The PSNI are police officers paid to uphold the law. To imply they are paid to fight a conflict is just ridiculous but I’ve news that will make you happy I’m sure – they probably are miserable due to these volunteer fighters trying to blow them to pieces. Also to say that dissidents have an ideology is laughable. I would be surprised if they even knew what the word meant.

old school

Nice try Al. I’m not implying they are paid to fight. I’m stating a fact. They are paid to fight. They are mercenaries. Nothing else. A bunch of greedy, grubby, overtime grabbing, mortgage-strapped individuals who’d fight for Chinese or Russian overlords if they they paid they wages. Look how much they charged when Ardoyne Youths threw stones for one night.. You find the fact that Republicans have an ideology is laughable? Well, you’ll eat your words like the “Chief Constable” who likened Republicans to “gangs in Brixton”. He’s been shown to be out of touch with reality on the ground, and so shall you.

USA

Irish Americans traditionally vote Democrat. The southern ‘evangelicals’ vote right wing Republican. Don’t blame us for turning your house into a shit hole. “And sections of the business community”…utter garbage. The IRA was driven by young idealists from working class streets in Belfast and the farms of Co Tyrone, the business community by and large were not interested.

Mortgage-strapped! You almost make them sound like real people. Aye the peelers are pretty useless but I’m sure if they shot a man they would be traumatized. They would make crap fighters for the Russians.

Dissidents are not gangs at all I agree. They’re terrorists who have taken to blowing up banks. Presumably because they’ve now realised that they need to be seen to have some sort of ideology or people won’t take them seriously or support them, What’s the master plan then? How will they achieve their 32 County Ireland and topple the big bad British?

As for Republicans of course they have an ideology.

pippakin

USA

And then the ‘idealists’ and the, no doubt, poverty stricken ‘farmers’ became the big business and are to a large extent responsible for turning parts of the north into a little shit hole. Aided and abetted of course by Irish American racists.

OldSod

Remember the old adage, “you pay peanuts, you get monkeys”, in the case of paramilitaries, you get murderous killer monkeys like on “planet of the apes” or “Congo”- you know the ones. I’ll stop short of comparing the evil flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz 😉

Anyway, how on earth can you hold up dissident terrorists as some kind of virtuous paragon of good? They are thugs who think it’s okay to murder people if they don’t get what they want. They use a mandate almost a century out of date and twist it to fit their own vision, to the exclusion of what their fellow countrymen (which includes PSNI officers, constitutional democrats and unionists) want. To be honest, I see most of the dissidents as akin to the various ultra-nationalist groups you could see in other countries like the Red Army groups. People who only become relevant and whose life takes on meaning because they choose violence. Without it they are just disaffected individuals out of step with the majority of people.

with Cyber attack being recognised as a major national security vulnerability, what provision is available from the Legislative Assembly and the NI Government to defeat attacks against themselves and their Systems?

Do they have such a Special Stormont Department or is it provided by Others and GCHQ in a new £200 million PSNI Tool …….

No Known Defense against such Vulnerabilities allows Threats to be Treated as Real rather than Discovered as Virtual and SurReal?

Does Northern Ireland have Officers of Cyber Security Protecting and Purging Systems?

“Shouldn’t MI5 be paying for that given that the only role the PNSI has in countering ‘dissident’ terrorism is under the direct control of MI5?” …. Alias 19 October 2010 at 12:05 am

Direct MI5 control of dissident terrorism would certainly be a game-changer ….. and Opportunity for Something Special Together, Alias.

It is not as if the technology and communications channels are not there, is it? Indeed, it is such expanding channels which are of such national and International and Internetional concern with regard to physical security and systems’ defense against cyber attacks.

One wonders how long it will be until theses ideological,(or should that be ‘illogical’,nat reps,start bombing Brussels,in the name of Oirish freedom ??

pippakin

Of course republicans have an ideology they appear to be a diverse group of people held together by that ideology.

The violence is one thing. It was always wrong now it is also unnecessary, everyone should be behind purely peaceful means.

There is another problem which so long as the north is separate from the south, and SF reflect a more or less all Ireland political view, is often overlooked. I’m not sure the ‘purist’ republican ideals would fit into the south, let alone into the north.

Substantial numbers on both sides of the border would have serious objections to a republican manifesto. Nothing to do with a UI but everything to do with extreme left wing politics. It may be that in a way the troubles in the north have camouflaged the potential for serious problems in the south should such a ‘party’ gain power.

“Surely GCHQ would be in charge of cyber terrorism? I would dread to think that the peelers are in charge of cyber security!” … al 19 October 2010 at 2:35 am

Then are they as Novelist in the Field, aI?

White Horse

USA

Even the left of US politrics is to the right of our politics.

As for some Catholic business men supporting ther IRA, I’d refer you to Martin McGuinness repeated public comments in Derry about any businessman who does not want to pay (protection) funding to republicans, to come to him and he’ll sort it out. Presumably they got what they paid for, influence and effective lip-service to the revolutionary cause.

Of course, the reality of Sinn Fein is that it supported two masters, Ireland and socialism. It caved in on Ireland through John Hume, and just to prove that you really can’t serve two masters, “you will love the one and hate the other”, it has subsequently proven that the socialism was just a dressing to keep the voters away from the SDLP.

It is hastily trying to resurrect Ireland as its master but the public have seen through the facade and regard them as not really believing in anything.

jon the raver

If they spent more time on policing rather than on PR offencsives then it might be money better spent